The Final Refuge

for all women



They came for you at daybreak
When the war crept out of the darkness
To make the morning into a hell of hatred.

They came for you in old age
When euthanasia seemed like a merciful option
For your family.
You were always ready to serve.

They came for you in middle age
When the younger version of yourself
Was set up as an idol to destroy you.
You were always ready to forgive.

They came for you in your shining youth
When they offered you everything but fidelity.
How ready you were to let go
Of your right to be loved.

They came for you in childhood
When they wanted you as food for their fantasies.
Dressed to kill your innocence
You were always so longing
To be beautiful.

They came for you with unclean knives
To make you ‘pure’ and manageable
By tearing out your flesh within.
You were always ready to believe that the worst
Had all just been for the best
And to do the best
For your daughters.

And now they come for you in the final refuge
The life-giving space of the womb.

Your mother has been taught
That a boy is so much better
At last she has listened
And agreed.

And down to the facility she has walked
With the burden of girlhood within her.

And let them come for you
With acid and scissors, suction and pincers
Into the incinerator
In the name of choice.

Don’t be fooled, my sister.
Gendercide has a history.

Don’t become a chapter
In the long sad story.

They came with ideology
To take your discernment.

This time,
Don’t let them have it.